Officer shoots loose dog; owner disputes account

One of the black lab's owners, Christian Duran-Estrada, 18, said he finds that hard to believe.

He said the dog, which got loose in the company of its mother, had never displayed any hostile tendencies. "He's more playful than aggressive," he said.

Duran said he woke up to the sound of a gunshot. Going outside, in the 700 block of Northeast 19th Street, he saw his younger dog Aso lying dead in the street. But he said the officer pumped additional rounds into the dog anyway.

McMinnville Police Chief Matt Scales said that's not true.

The officer fired three shots, Scales said. The first shot missed, but the second and third shots inflicted fatal wounds, he said.

"With the dogs' sudden aggressive behavior toward this officer, and with minimal time to react to a simultaneous attack from the two dogs, the officer was forced to fire his sidearm at the closest aggressing dog," Scales said. He said that dog was within two feet when it was hit.

At that point, the stories differ.

Duran said the dog was clearly dead, but the officer fired two more shots. Police said it took three shots to drop the dog, after the first missed.

Duran said the mother and son canines are normally confined in a fenced backyard. He said he had no idea how they got loose.

Neighbors have never complained about them, he said.

For more, see the compete story in the Friday print edition of the News-Register.

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Comments

tagup

No pepper spray?....

06:10 pm - Wed, November 8 2017

Bill B

A vicious Lab? I doubt it.

06:58 am - Thu, November 9 2017

Fancydog1

I agree with Bill B. a vicious lab? I seriously doubt it. I am horrified at the outcome.

07:32 am - Thu, November 9 2017

Mudstump

I'm with you tagup...where was the pepper spray? Sounds like overkill too me if you will excuse the pun.

07:55 am - Thu, November 9 2017

tagup

It's worrisome when the first option is to draw a firearm......

08:10 am - Thu, November 9 2017

Joel2828

I would be interested in hearing more details. For instance, why was the officer out of his car in a residential area early in the morning? Another good question: How many hours of training do police officers receive in how to interact with dogs? Recognizing aggressive vs more passive breeds, recognizing and reading different types of behavior...that sort of thing.Also, is their anyway the NR could provide a link to the police report?

11:11 am - Thu, November 9 2017

Joel2828

It is very unlikely that a pure bred lab, raised and socialized by a person who knows what they are doing, would be aggressive. But I have seen plenty of labs and/or lab mixes raised improperly that can be pretty aggressive.

11:16 am - Thu, November 9 2017

Joel2828

Did this happen on October 8 or is that a typo that should say Nov 8??

11:22 am - Thu, November 9 2017

Fancydog1

This happened yesterday, November 8, 2017

11:55 am - Thu, November 9 2017

Paul Daquilante

Joel2828 . . .

The date has been corrected. Thank you for pointing that out.

Paul Daquilante / reporter

12:47 pm - Thu, November 9 2017

yamhillbilly2

I was driving on Lafayette (sp) when the dogs were crossing Orchard. A man was pulled over, I believe to corral the dogs but they kept runnging down the sidewalk, not out in the street. It was two black labs seeming to be having fun, not aggressively hunting. Too bad the officer couldn’t tell the difference between aggression and most likely fun. I hope this doesn’t turn into another changing story like our other local vet tech dog killer has.

12:51 pm - Thu, November 9 2017

tagup

On a related note...The officer said the dog was within two feet when he fired.....and missed?...from two feet?...C'mon man, get to the range for practice.

01:49 pm - Thu, November 9 2017

Bill B

Given the comments so far, it would seem reasonable for the News Register to request a full accounting of the facts as well as the status of the MPD's investigation. There will be an investigation, won't there?

Lulu

Denise

I see all the Monday night quarterbacks who weren’t there nor have any idea are squawking about what they don’t know.

Perhaps they’d like to serve and protect and put their lives on the line?

Yeah, doubt it.

Keep your dog under control or suffer the consequences.

07:01 pm - Thu, November 9 2017

tagup

Citizens have every right to ask questions when an officer uses his firearm. You must admit that the circumstances warrant some explanation.

05:16 am - Fri, November 10 2017

Lulu

The Nicole Wood School of Dog Control, in which no one can testify against you and the recidivism rate remains zero.Shoot first (or second, or third) and dummy up.

11:30 am - Fri, November 10 2017

Mudstump

I could be wrong, but wasn't there some discussion of animal control being turned over to local police? Is this how they plan on handling free-roaming dogs and lost pets?

01:29 pm - Fri, November 10 2017

Bill B

Mudstump you are correct. Yamhill County no longer has a dog control department.This incident in my opinion is what will continue to happen if we have untrained personnel try to control and deal with family pets. Not sure what weapons police officers are equipped with but my guess is that they have something a little less lethal than a gun,

04:59 pm - Fri, November 10 2017

Charlie

On Yamco watch several other persons that stated the dog was aggressive!!